ST. LOUIS (August 31, 2020) – After announcing former German youth international goalkeeper Lutz Pfannenstiel as the club’s Sporting Director, St. Louis CITY SC is wasting no time in building a best-in-class sporting department. Pfannestiel today announced that he is tapping two top international executives – Bernhard Peters and Mike Forde — to help him build the team’s on-field operations and put St. Louis on the international soccer map.
Peters is widely recognized as one of the most successful youth academy architects in the world and he will join St. Louis CITY SC as a Youth Academy Development Consultant. He and Pfannenstiel previously worked together for many years when Lutz was head of international relations and scouting at TSG Hoffenheim. He has a storied history with the famed Bundesliga, previously serving as Sporting Director for Hamburger SV and Director of high performance for TSG Hoffenheim. As a senior consultant to the club, Peters will work alongside Pfannenstiel to develop the organization’s youth academy, which will be part of the recently announced MLS elite player development platform and the official MLS youth academy in the St. Louis region.
Forde will consult with the club to establish and maintain a model for high-performance and sustained culture. Forde has over 20 years of experience working with teams across the United States and Europe, including the English Premier League, to create cutting-edge performance models that deliver winning results.
Forde is the Executive Chairman of Sportsology, a strategic consultancy that helps sports teams lay the foundations for success by transforming organizational systems and behaviors. Delivering advisory services and digital solutions to support the definition of strategy, codification of culture, and enhancement of talent identification, Sportsology works with sports organizations across all major US leagues and European soccer.
“Working alongside Bernhard and Mike, I’m confident that we will build a club and academy development program with top talent, best-in-class training approaches and the ability to quickly competes championships,” said Lutz Pfannenstiel.
By hiring Peters and Forde, Pfannenstiel is bringing in two well-respected international sports executives with decades of experience in professional soccer and have a deep knowledge of the game. They will assist in his efforts to develop homegrown and identify and pursue international players to build a club that is diverse, highly competitive and proudly represents the St. Louis region.
